


Putt a Ring on It

by Aurum



Category: ROBOT x LASERBEAM (Manga)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-19
Packaged: 2018-12-04 07:19:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11550255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurum/pseuds/Aurum
Summary: "Actually," Youzan says, putting his arm around Robo's shoulders, "we are a couple."We are?Robo thinks, suddenly worried that he's missed some major social cues.





	Putt a Ring on It

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [SASO prompt](http://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/22249.html?thread=11613673#cmt11613673): Pretending To Be Married.

"Sorry, we're having a 'couples only' day," says the receptionist at the golf course, carelessly flipping a page in her magazine in an universal sign of boredom.

Robo can feel frustration well up inside him, a feeling familiar through repetition, happening very often in conjunction with Youzan and the prospect of a rematch. If he subscribed to Tomoya's idea of fate, he might be inclined to think it's solidly against them.

Every time it looks like they may finally meet in a competition, something happens to prevent it, things ranging from bad luck of the draw to just short of natural disaster. Last time, unexpectedly, it was Youzan's team that failed to qualify far enough for them to play each other. At this rate they may not get to settle the score before graduation, and if there's something Robo learned about himself, it's that he's not actually a very patient person.

Their latest attempt is a little desperate. They've left unsatisfied after the competition and by mutual agreement decided to head to another course nearby in the hopes of playing an unofficial match. But even that seems to be beyond their reach thanks to the unforeseen limitation.

Robo starts deflating, ready to give up for today. But then, instead of thanking the receptionist and turning back like Robo expects him to, Youzan clears his throat and straightens up.

"Actually," he says, putting his arm around Robo's shoulders, "we are a couple."

 _We are?_ Robo thinks, suddenly worried that he's missed some major social cues.

"You are?" the receptionist echoes his thoughts, peering at them in what's probably suspicion.

"Yes," Youzan says, his hand squeezing Robo's arm. "It's, uh. It's our honeymoon and I promised we'd have a golf match, so."

Oh, it's a lie then. Youzan is trying to save their opportunity by pretending they do in fact meet the criteria. A morally questionable plan, but Robo can't disapprove, not when it might give them a chance at the rematch after all.

Only it seems that Youzan has gone too far in trying to establish the legitimacy of their fabricated relationship. It's not outside of the question for two high school students to be together, but claiming they're married stretches the credibility. As expected, the receptionist narrows her eyes at them, looking unconvinced.

"Uh, but if we can't..." Youzan continues, seemingly lost now that his first attempt didn't end in success. He looks at Robo, his eyes wider than usual.

It does seem like their only chance to play here today, so Robo decides to go along with the plan. He may not have any romantic experience to draw on, but he did spend his whole life near a very affectionate couple (his parents), so he should be able to reasonably fake it. With that in mind he leans heavily into Youzan's side, putting his arm around his waist.

Youzan goes stiff against him, his fingers digging into Robo's arm. It doesn't seem very conducive to giving off the impression of a long-time couple. Hopefully it's just a result of surprise and not an indication of the level of participation Robo can expect from him from now on.

"It's not your fault, honey," he says, trying to inflect his voice with feeling. It's a lie to match Youzan's — in fact, everything is Youzan's fault, starting from getting Robo interested in golf in the first place. Even now, Youzan just makes a faint strangled noise and doesn't do anything to sell their case better, leaving all the work to Robo.

Robo takes off his visor so it doesn't get in the way and raises up on his toes to press his lips against Youzan's cheek. "Although I did very much hope we'd get to play this match," he adds. That much is true.

"Um," Youzan says, unhelpfully. Robo has to repress the urge to sigh.

A glance out of the corner of his eye reveals that the receptionist is still watching them, her eyebrows raised. Youzan's just looking down at Robo, cheeks growing more red with each passing second. If it's embarrassment due to the poor quality of their act, it could be greatly helped by taking action to follow up on his own plan.

Youzan's hesitation is starting to hurt their case, or so it seems to Robo. To offset it, Robo rocks up again to fit his mouth to Youzan's. If there's one thing that may sell their act, an unambiguously couple-y thing to do, it must be a kiss.

That's another thing Robo doesn't have experience with, but the basics seem simple enough. Although calculating the angle proves more tricky than expected with their noses in the way. Still, it's a success — his lips touch Youzan's, if a few millimeters off-center, both compressing lightly between their teeth.

It's pleasant, though perhaps not as much as Robo believes it should be. That may be partly due to his inexperience, but he's happy to assign the rest of the blame to Youzan, who just breathes in sharply at the contact and then stays perfectly still, his lips unmoving beyond parting slightly. It hardly seems like an ideal kiss, but it will have to do in the circumstances.

They stay like that until Robo draws away, lowering himself to the ground. Youzan continues to stare at him, his face edging past just flushed and into a shade of red that may be unhealthy for humans. Robo is the first to look away, turning to the receptionist to check if their charade had a desired effect.

It's very hard to decipher the expression of a person he's just met, but she doesn't look particularly convinced. If Robo had to put a name to it, he'd says she's closer to amused. He's reading to admit defeat, but when she speaks it's to say: "Okay, wouldn't want to ruin your honeymoon."

"Oh," Robo says, taken over by surprise for a moment. "Thank you."

"No problem. Your name?"

"Hatohara," he says when it seems like Youzan's not about to speak anytime soon.

The receptionist collects their money and hands the keys to their lockers to Youzan with a smile and a "Here you go, Hatohara-san."

"Uh," Youzan says, looking startled. "Right. Thank you."

Robo starts for the locker room, his spirits rising now that it seems like they'll finally be able to get their rematch. Youzan trails after him, jangling the keys in his hand.

"Why was it me that ended up with your name, anyway?" he asks once they're alone in the locker room, with a laugh that sounds a little forced.

"Oh," Robo says, turning back to him as he realizes his mistake. "I apologize. I should've asked before I gave my name as ours." It does seem like something one should agree on beforehand, even if they didn't exactly get a chance to discuss the details.

"No, it's not actually a big deal," Youzan protests, somewhat urgently.

It's kind of him to excuse Robo's blunder, but it was still one, and it would be bad to leave it hanging between them. "I promise to be more considerate next time," Robo says.

Youzan opens and closes his mouth a few times before he settles on an "Okay," and turns to fumble his key into the lock.

Robo does the same, relieved that he's been forgiven. "I confess I didn't really expect this to work," he says.

"Yeah," Youzan replies, clearing his throat. "I didn't expect this either."

He seems distracted when they head out to the course, almost forgetting his soil bag and tripping over a seemingly flat plane of grass on the way. Robo watches him a little worriedly as he sets up for his first shot.

Hopefully Youzan will manage to collect himself for the game so they can play the whole match in optimal condition. Robo would hate it if they didn't get to finish this time.


End file.
